Folding machine



Dec. 23, 1952 Filed May 7. 1949 A. F. SHIELDS FOLDING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet l M INVENTOR.

ALB??? F JH/ELDJ A. F. SHIELDS FOLDING MACHINE Dec. 23, 1952 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 7, 1949 J 7 mm 5 mH p vamp: O MN. 11

r. fi Q 2% M B .r M W W w ATTORNEJJ Dec. 23, 1952 Filed May '7, 1949 M m m In N 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY W U M ATTOgMQJW Dec. 23, 1952 A. F. SHIELDS 2,622,493

FOLDING MACHINE Filed May 7, 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. ALPEZiJ' F J'HZELDJ ATTOQNEQYJ.

Dec. 23, 1952 A. F. SHIELDS 2,522,493

FOLDING MACHINE Filed May 7, 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. 'ALfiE/ff' 7. SA /208 WYUZM Dec. 23, 1952 A. F. SHIELDS 2,622,493

FOLDING MACHINE Filed May 7, 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVEN TOR. ALQEJ JH/ELDJ Filed May '7, 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 JNVENTOR. A132??? 17. 61 1/5208 Dec. 23, 1952 F, sHlELDS 2,622,493

FOLDING MACHINE Filed/May 7, 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR.

A. F. SHIELDS FOLDING MACHINE Dec. 23, 1952 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed May 7, 1949 INVEN TOR. 4/0 AME??? F. d'H/ELDJ flM 46 Patented Dec. 23, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,622,493 scheme MASHINE Albert? FF Sliilds,"Forest Hills, Nail, assignor to S"& S Corrugated Paper Machinery Co., linc., Brooklyn, 'N; Y.; a corporation oi New/York Application May 7, IQ lBISe'r'ial No. 91353 i 4 cases: (Q1. 93-49) present invention-is'a continuation-impartof Patent No. 2,583,712, issuedJahuarY 29; i952, and relates to folding machines and 'more par-' ticularly to a folding machine of thetype gen-' erally shown in'my prior Patent No.-- 2,3'36;50-'7 wherein large size corrugated board or other paper blanks are to he passed from*'a stack through various folding element's an'ddelivered' to a tape applying mechanism;

In the making of cartons it isnecessaryfirst to crease and slot the blanks-in order properly to prepare them for the folding-operation." Here= tofore and prior to the advent of a specific fold-- ing machine for operatingrapidlyon-blanks; it has been customary to foldthese-blanks manue ally and feed them into the tapingmachine. The folding operation for anordinary-square tubular box comprises-bending over the two outer panels on the score lines so that the edgesofthe panels meet to form a collapsed tube. The'maximum speed which can" be expected'frommanual fo1d' ing is of the order of from -130 blanks"'per minute. I

In addition, wherethe blanks 'have'b'e'en incorrectly creased or scored'prior to folding',"it "becomes necessary for the operator' when bringing the edge's'of the folded parieltogether' to'twist the panels around the creaseand adjustand reform the creasein order that the'tub'e maybe squared properly. This operation "isvery'time consuming when performed" manually; also" the operator tends readily'to place aside and'idiscard blanks the panels of which are visibly askew; thus leading to a great deal of waste and addi tional operations.

My novel machine has for itsprimarypurpose the rapid folding and delivering" ofthe' blanks" at a rate ranging upwardfromlm) a minute to as high as 180 blanks perminute and even higher.

My novel device also embodies elements which Wiil straighten and reform the crease'i'n' any blank in which thepanels when folded are askew" without slowingthe rate offolding in any way."

Primarily my present: invention is directed"to-' ward improvements in the"deviceshovvnin my. Patent No. 2,336,507 Whichimproveniefits were invented in order to increase the'folding rateof my machine, also to increase the range of the machine with regard to sheetsizes and'materials to improve the reliability of operation and'also to shorten the set-uptinie' These improvements include a stacking arrangement which will'p'er mit delivery of warpedb-lanks to the folding apparatus, also Where'theside 'gaugeshre automatically positioned when"thefolding'widthis v set; prefoidlng elements which-"will start; the panels to be folded around'their bent line just prior to the point where the blanks reach'flthe folding plates'iinproved plates which are curved to extend the preiolding action; improved stop means which act on the unfoidedportion of the blank for holding the blanks in-proper position during folding; improved re-creasing means to reiorrn'the creases in blanks, the panels of which would'otherwise he askew, improved means for adjusting the machineto various sizesandjarrangements of theblanks; and improved means ior simplifying and integrating the drives for the various elements of the machine so'that each operation willtake place at 'theproper instant.

Also, novel machine includes added means to ensure bringing' the blanks up to thestopunder allconditions and preventing rebound;

stripping means to ensure that the folded blanks" clear the retracted stop; folding bar limiting rolls to limit deflection Ofth folding bars and guide the folded blank into the straightening section.

Another and important object of my present invention is the provision of a two-speed drive forthe folding plates of' my folding machine;

This makes it possible to utilize the r1111 capac ity of the machine where blanks of half or less than "the standard length are'folded. The added speed of operation of the folding plates'i s, of

Figure 2 is a side'view of thenovel 'folding' machine of Figure 1.

Figure Bis a' side View partly in cross-section" corresponding to the side view of Figure 2 taken on line-t-B of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an'enlarged side viewshowing the stacking and feeding arrangement for theblanks" to be folded."

Figure 5 is an end View of'my novel maohine takenfrom'line 5--5"0'f Figure 2 lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Figure" 6 is a viewpartly in cross-section of the front gauge of the stacking devicetaken from 1in'e'"6"fi of Figure l looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 7 is a cross sectionalView showin'gjt hei manner in which the blank enters the region'of Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on 3 line 3-8 of Figure 4 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 9 is an enlarged top plan view showing the arrangement of the ore-folding means for preparing the panels of the blanks for folding by the folding prints of my invention.

Figure 10 is a side view of the pre-folding means of Figure 9 taken from line iii-10 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 11 is an end view of the pre-folding means and stop device taken from line I l-l l of Figures 1 and 10 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 12 is a side view partly broken away taken on line 12-12 of Figure 1 showing the means for operating the stop device out of stopping position after the blank has been folded.

Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the speed changing mechanism.

Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view taken on line |4l4 of Figure 13.

Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view taken on line |5-l5 of Figure 14.

Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view taken on line l6-l6 of Figure 13.

Figure 17 is a cross-sectional view showing the kicker adjustment mechanism.

Figure 18 is an end view partly in cross-section of the kicker adjustment mechanism.

Referring now to Figures 1, 2, and 3, a stack of blanks 20 is placed on the bed of the stacking section 2| of the machine between the rear gauge 23 and the front gauge 25. The bottom blank in the stack is fed toward the right by the feed slat 21 through the spaces 30, 30 (Figure 6) between the front gauges 25, and the bar 3! on which the stack is placed. The spaces 33 are adjusted so that they are just high enough to permit one of the blanks 20 to pass through while holding back the remainder of the stack.

The blank passing through the spaces passes over the bar 3| and the idling roller 32, the function of which is hereinafter described and then is pushed by the feed slat 21 between the upper and lower feed rolls 35 and 36, respectively (Figure 3). Feed rolls 35 and 36 engage the blank and carry it forward to the upper and lower feed rolls 31 and 38. Feed roll 38 on the underside of the blank extends across the width of the machine whereas the upper feed roll 31 actually consists of two rollers 31a and 31b (Figure 1) which are adjustable so as to engage only the unfolded panel of the blank; that is, feed rollers 31a and 31b are adjusted so that they are just inside the fold line as defined by the folding bars 39 and 46.

The blanks are then fed by the feed rolls 31 and 38 between the upper and lower feed rolls 4|, 42. Upper feed roll 4| actually consists of two feed rolls Ma and 4lb occupying the same position, respectively, as feed rolls 31a and 311) as shown in Figure 1 and simultaneously adjustable with said feed rolls. The feed roll 42 on the underside is a single roll extending entirely across the machine and is rotatably mounted between the levers 43 which in turn are rotatably mounted on the pins 44 on opposite sides of the machine carried on lugs of the cross-bracket 45. The lower end of cross-bracket 45 has secured thereto arm 46 having an opening through which the spring guide rod 41 passes. (All of the foregoing may readily be seen in Figure 3.) Compression spring 48 around the guide rod 41 bears between washer 49 on the underside of lever 43 and washer 50 on the upper side of arm 46 and thus biases lever arm 43 upwardly to bias the idling 4 roll 42 upwardly to tightly press the blank against the upper feed roll 4|.

The maximum lift of lever 43 and thus the maximum rise of idling roll 42 may be controlled by the adjustable nuts 5| on the lower end of the guide rod 41. Rolls 35 and 38 are also spring biased in a manner similar to the springing means described for roll 42.

The blank is then carried under the folding bars 39 and 40 and over the feed rolls 53 (see also Figure 10) which are rotatably mounted on each side on arms 54 rotatably supported on a center coaxial with shaft 55. Each of the arms 54 has an extension 56 on the opposite side of the shaft 55 connected to tension spring 51, which in turn is connected to a stationary lug 58 (Figures 3 and 10). The spring 51 biases the feed rolls 53 upwardly to engage and drive the blank. The feed rolls 53 engage the blank on each side by pressing it up against the folding bars 39 and 40 and thus carry the blank forward until its front edge engages the stops 58 mounted on stop bars 13. The forward progress of the blank is thus arrested while the feed rolls 53 continue to rotate and press the blank against the stops 58.

While the blank is in this position with its forward edge against the two stops 58, the creases or scores on which the fold is to take place are in register with the outer sides of the folding bars 39 and 46. This is, of course, obtained by an appropriate adjustment of the machine as hereinafter described, prior to the beginning of a run and by appropriate stacking of the blanks.

While the blank is in the stop position against stop 58, the folding plates 66 (Figure 1) which are each held on their respective cross arms 6| are driven around to fold the blank. Each of the cross arms 6| which supports its folding plate 6'.) is driven by link 62 which connects it to the crank 63, which in turn is driven from the folding blank operating box 64. The drive for folding plate 60 is thus substantially the same as described in my prior Patent No. 2,336,507.

The folding plate 60 is driven around by the mechanism thus described to fold the side panels of the blank around the folding bars 39 and 40 and to fold them down flat upon the remainder of the blank. The folding operation is facilitated first by reason of the fact that the folding plates 60 and BI are downwardly bent at 61 in order that the side panels of the blank may readily ride up thereon. Also, the folding operation is further facilitated by means of the deflecting plate 10 on each side (seen specifically in Figures 9 to 11) each of which terminate in an angularly positioned roller 11 so that the side panels are folded up of the order of 25 between plate 10 and roller 1| on each side even before the blank reaches the folding position. The side panels are thus given an initial angularity with respect to the moving blank so that the folding plates need not rotate the side panels through a full 180 but must as shown by an examination of Figure 11 rotate through approximately only The stop bars 13 are as shown in Figure 10 supported by the bracket arm 15 which in turn is pivotally supported on the fixed shaft 16 on each side.

The stop bar 13 on each side has a downward extension 18, the lower end of which is connected by eye bolt 19 to the tension spring 89, which in turn is connected to the lug 8| secured to the U shaped members 22a which are fixed to the width of the folding boxes and adjusted with them. Accordingly, the stop bar 13 on each side is maina d tained in raised position. The U members 22a serve to supportthe' blank While in the folding section and then also'serve to stripthe folded blank from the stop when it retracts.

Th two downward extensions 18 on each side of the machine each carries a roller 84 which is engaged by the lever bar 85a on the levers 85 on shaft 85. completed, the shaft 86 is rotated counterclockwise to rotate the lever 85 counterclockwise and push down the rollers 84 of extensions l8. This pushes down the stop bars 13 which move down with the bracket 15 which in turn rotates about the shaft it. This in turn pulls down the stops 58 on each side and thus removes the stop members from the leading edge of the blank.

The machine is so arranged and timed that as soon as the stops 5% are depressed by the action of lever 85, slat 99 mounted across the chains Si moves up into engagement with the rear of the folded blank and moves the blank beneath the hold-down strip 92 which strip is adjustably supported by feed screw 93 operated by knurl'edkn'ob as on the cross bar 95. The hold' -down strip 52 is adjusted so that it extends just in front of the stops The front end is curved upwardly so that panels which tend to spring up after being folded will be guided down again and their edges brought to abutting position. As soon as the slat' $16 on chains dl engages and moves it forward limiting rolls its, it! which as shown in Figure 3 loosely control the position of thedelivery end of folding bars and it. Since the folding bars as and 5J3 are supported from the front guide elements of the stacking device and since the free or delivery ends of the folding bar are substanl tially distant from their supports, they may be moved through a, small angle.

The rollers 5%, till above and below, respectively, each of the folding bars 39 and ti) limit the upward and downward movement of the free ends of the folding bars 39 and so that they will not be flexed to too great an extent. These rollers also serve, in addition to controlling the position of the free ends of the folding bars 39 and 38, to control the blank and hold it in a somewhat central position so that the edges of the blank will be properly engaged by the straightening rolls i it.

The straightening rolls ill} are each mounted on stub shafts ill which in turn are supported on the adjustable plates H2, H2. Straightening rolls l is on each side are ali ned with each other and are provided with grooves as shown in Figure 3 adapted to receive the folded edge of the blank. The plates H2, H2 are adjusted so that the peripheries of the aligned rollers [l0 on each side are spaced apart by a distance which is slightly less than the width of the folded blank. The slat 8E3 forces the blank between the rolls I It with the edges of the blank riding in the annular grooves on each side. Since the rolls a're'thus spaced slightly closer together than the width of the blank the crease or fold is adjusted and spread vertically;

The movement of the slat which maintains the body of the blank normal to its direction of travel holds the blank at the correct angles with respect to the rolls ii 5 so that in a properly folded blank the crease is adjusted regularly on each side. Where the score line was initially incorrect After the folding operation has been or where the panel was folded improperly, the

l2ii forms the crease in exactly the right position.-

I have found that panels which have-been skewed so that the trailing or leading edge of the panel projects over the edge of the main bodyof the box by more than a quarter of an inch have been straightened and properly recreased by this operation. Blanks which had-been improperly scored so that when folded up the panel would be skewed have been corrected and straightened during the passage through the folding machine.

My machine, therefore, reduces the waste of blanks and makes it possible to utilize blanks even though they have been improperly or carelessly creased or scored.

This type of recreasing operation has also been described in my p ior Fatent No. 2,336,507 wherein several spaced crease adjusting rolls are shown on each side. While spaced crease adjusting rolls have been able properly to recrease andcorrect skewed blanks, I have found that by placing the crease adjusting rolls lit-in closely spaced relation as shown in Figures 1 and 8, a greater degree of skew may be corrected.

The hold-down is adjusted forward and back by loosening the screw silaand sliding the slat back and forth; and is adjusted up and down by screw E33. Each of the said slats 96 mounted across the chains at has a recess I36 so that it- Referring to Figure 5, a variable speed D. C.

motor [59 with the sprocket it! drives the sprocket I52 which is mounted on shaft E53 which carries sprocket 55d of Figure 1. Sprocket I541 provides power to pull the chains ill. Chains 9! are in turn held by idler sprockets on shaft [58 (Figures 1 and 3). Idler sprocket 551l- (Figure 3) is adjustably mounted to I tighten the chains. Shaft I53 also holds sprocket it which in turn drives sprockets I61, I62 and H33 thus driving the lower delivery shaftl il and the upper delivery shaft I46 and the taper cam shaft I65. 7

Referring to Figure 1, the end of shaft 153 holds a bevel gear lll which drives bevel gear I?! on shaft IE2. Figure 12) drives bevel gear lid on stud H5 and so drives drop-oif cam I'EE which is mounted on bevel gear PM. Roller ll'i'onarm llsengages" the periphery of cam I16; thus an oscillatory Bevelgear 173 on shaft H2 (also in and of the sprocket 320.

motion is imparted to lever !18 and to shaft 86 on which it is mounted; the shaft 85 as mentioned before serves to retract the stop 58. Set screw !80 held in housing [8! engages-an arm of lever I18 and serves to limit the angular motion of the lever !18 and also of the shaft 86.

Referring back to Figure 1, the shaft I12 is connected to shaft 200 by means of the coupling 20!. Bevel gear 202 on shaft 200 drives bevel gear 203 on shaft 204 which provides power to both of the folding boxes 64. Bevel gear 205 on shaft 200 drives bevel gear 206 on shaft 201 and thus turns the spur gear 208 which also is keyed to shaft 201.

Referring to Figure 2, gear 203 meshes with gear 209, 2!0 and 2!! and thus drives gears 220, 22! and 222. Gear 222 drives gear 223. It can be seen that by means of this gearing the feed rolls 35, 35, 31, 38 and 4! are all driven. Also that gears 35 and 38 are pivotally held on the centers of gears 222 and 209, respectively, so that these feed rolls when spring biased will adjust themselves to any thickness of blank.

Referring back to Figure 1, gear 230 on shaft 200 drives gear 23! which holds level gear 232. Bevel gear 232 drives bevel gear 233 on the kicker drive shaft 234.

Referring to Figure 4, the crank 235 which is keyed to 234 drives link 236 which in turn drives crank 231 and link 238. Link 238 is a pin-connected link which transfers the variable rotary motion of pin 239 on link 231 to a variable reciprocating motion of pin 240 on kicker carriage 24!. Carriage 24! carries the kicker bar 242 in such a manner that the bar is adjustable relatively to the carriage by means of the T-shaped member 243 and the screw 244. The spring kickers 21 are mounted on the kicker bar 242 in order to obtain adjustment for uneven blanks.

All members which engage the edges of the blank are provided with nuts which in turn are driven by screws all of which are driven from a common source on each side of the machine in order to adjust the machine for different widths of blanks.

The motor 300 in Figure 2 drives the shaft 30! through a worm gear reduction 302. Shaft 30! holds a sprocket 303 (Figure 1) which engages a chain 304 which passes over sprockets 305, 303 and 301. Sprockets 305, 306 and 301 drive screws 308, 309 of Figure and 3!0 of Figure 1, respectively, and these in turn serve to adjust the straightening roll bracket H2, the stop and deflector assembly of Figure 10, and the folding box 54 of Figure 1, respectively. At the other end of shaft 30! is a sprocket 320 which by means of chain 32! drives sprockets 322 and 323. Sprocket 324 is an idler for the purpose of tightening chain 32!.

Referring to Figure 6, sprocket 322 is keyed to screw 343 which engages nut 343a of Figure I mounted on frame 325. Frame 325 holds the side gauge 325 shown also in Figures 2 and 6. Sprocket 323 is keyed to screw 330 which engages nut 33! on frame 332 shown in Figures 1 and 3. Frame 332 serves to hold front gauge 25 and also the folding guide bar 39. Since the sprocket 322 contains half as many teeth as the sprocket 323 and since their respective screws 343 and 330 have the same lead, the frame 325 which holds the side gauge 326 will be moved twice as far as the frame 332 for a given movement of the chain 32! The frames 325 and 332 are supported on bars 35! and 352 in Figure 3. These bars are held at both ends by the brackets 353 and 354 (Figure 6) which are mounted on housings 355 and 356, respectively.

Referring to Figure 10 in a similar manner, the carriage 3!2 is mounted on the two bars 16 and 330 which are in turn supported in the side frames of the machine.

In Figures 13 to 16 I have shown my novel speed changing mechanism applied to the folding machine in order to double the number of folding operations of each unit of movement of the chain 9!.

It will be noted that the drive to shaft !53 which operates the chain 9! remains the same and is not affected by the speed changer mechanism 400. Bevel gear !1! drives the shaft I12 which through coupling 402 drives shaft 403 rotatably mounted in appropriate bearings in side wall 404 of the speed changer housing 400.

Gear 405 keyed to shaft 403 meshes with and drives gear 401 keyed to shaft 403. Shaft 408 rotates in appropriate bearings 4!0 in the opposite side walls of housing 400. Shaft 408 carries keyed thereto the reduced diameter gear 4!2 which meshes with the increased diameter gear 4! 3 rotatably journalled on shaft 4!4.

Shaft 4!4 is rotatably mounted in a bearing 4!5 in the right side of the housing with respect to Figure 13 and the left side of the housing with respect to Figure 14, the opposite end of shaft 4! 4 being rotatably supported in bearing 4 I 6 journalled within the gear 405.

The clutch member comprises a rotatable member 420 keyed to shaft M4 by the key 42! but longitudinally slidable along the shaft M4. The rotatable member or clutch plate 420 is rotatably mounted in the clutch shifter 425 and arm 426 of which is keyed to the shift rod 421 having a shift handle 428 at the end.

The shift rod 421 has two predetermined positions, one wherein the clutch member 420 is against gear 405 and the other where the clutch member 420 is against the gear 4! 3.

The shift rod 420 is retained in shifted position in either side by detents 430 in the shift rod which register with the plunger 43! biased against the detents 430 by the compression spring 432 in order to avoid an accidental removal of the clutch plate 420 from driving position.

When the clutch plate 420 is shifted against the face of gear 435, then the clutch pins 440 enter corresponding openings 44! in gear 405 and a driving connection is established from gear 405 to the clutch disc 420 and hence to the shaft 4!4.

Consequently, the drive from shaft 12 through coupling 402 is a direct one through shaft 403 to shaft 4M and hence to the remainder of the mechanism as previously described.

When the clutch disc 420 is shifted to the right with respect to Figure 13, then pins 442 enter openings 443 in gear 4 3.

The drive to shaft M4 is now from the bevel gear !1!, shaft I12, coupling 402, shaft 403, gears 405, 501, shaft 400, gear 4l2, gear 4!3 to the clutch disc 420 and hence to the driven shaft M4 to which it is keyed.

The drive on shaft 4! 4 is consequently at a reduced speed and depending on the gear ratio it may be arranged to be at half speed or any other fraction of the desired speed. Since there is here shown only one set of gears, the half speed setting is the normal setting.

Consequently, the normal speed for the foldmg plates will be at the drive through gears M2 and M3. When the speed of the folding plates is to be increased, then the drive will occur with the clutch plate 420 shifted against gear 405. Preferably pins M0 and 452 are made sufliciently long so that the pins cannot escape openings 44! or 443 as the case may be on one side until after they have begun to enter the openings on the other side to avoid a loss of registry with both sets of openings.

The bars or pins Me on one side and the bars or pins M2 on the other side and their associated openings are not on a single diameter but are displaced slightly from a diameter so that registry can occur only at one point over the 360 arc.

The pointer 450 (Figure 1) may be provided on the skid 94 to indicate by registry with the feed slat 90 the point at which a shift may be made.

When an adjustment is made for high speed operation of the folding plates, extra slats 90a may be attached to the chain between the original slats 99. When adjustment is made for slow speed or normal speed operation, the extra slats 90a are removed.

Where the speed changer in housing M0 is adjusted from the double speed to the normal speed, it may on occasion be necessary to adjust the original feed elements 2! so that the timing of the initial feed of the blanks will be changed.

For this purpose, shaft 204 is broken as shown particularly in Figures 1 and 2, the left side of shaft 204 being provided with the spiral gear 5M and the right side of shaft 204 carrying the frame 502 which rotatably supports the screw 503 which meshes with spiral gear 50 I.

Screw 503 has handle 505 which may be operated to rotate the same.

The left and right side of shafts 204 are ac tually integrated for normal operation by the connection between screw 503 and spiral gear 50! which is a self -locking connection.

When the angular position of the left side of shaft 204! requires adjustment to position the kicker 2T properly, then rotation of handle 505 will cause angular adjustment of the left side of shaft 206 as required.

In the foregoing I have described my invention solely in connection with specific illustrative embodiments thereof. Since many variations and modifications of my invention will now be obvious to those skilled in the art, I prefer to be bound not by the specific disclosures herein contained but only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a folding machine for forming fiat, collapsed tubular box blanks from flat and scored sheets, said sheets having a pair of longitudinally extending side sections defined by score lines and foldable about said score lines into said collapsed tubular arrangement; stop members mounted on said machine; apparatus for moving said blanks successively against said stop members, means for folding over the side sections, the completion of said folding operation releasing said blanks from said stops; said folding means comprising a pair of oscillatable plates; drive mechanism for said plates; said drive mechanism including a speed changing connection, said apparatus for moving said blanks being adjustable to vary the number of blanks moved for any unit of movement of said apparatus.

2. In a folding machine for forming flat, collapsed tubular box blanks from fiat and scored sheets, said sheets having a pair of longitudinally extending side sections defined by score lines and foldable about said score lines into said collapsed tubular arrangement; stop members mounted on said machine; apparatus for moving said blanks successively against said stop members, means for folding over the side sections, the completion of said folding operation releasing said blanks from said stops; said folding means comprising a pair of oscillatable plates; blank moving means for moving the folded blank from the stops; a source of driving power; a first connection from said power source to said blank moving means; a second connection from said power source to said oscillatable plates; said second connection including speed changing mechanism, said apparatus for moving said blanks being adjustable to vary the number of blanks moved for any unit of movement of said apparatus.

3. In a folding machine for forming flat, collapsed tubular box blanks from flat and scored sheets, said sheets having a pair of longitudinally extending side sections defined by score lines and foldable about said score lines into said collapsed tubular arrangement; stop members mounted on said machine; apparatus for moving said blanks successively against said stop members, means for folding over the side sections, the completion of said folding operation releasing said blanks from said stops; said folding means comprising a pair of oscillatable plates; a chain for moving the folded blank from the stops; a source of driving power; a first connection from said power source to said chain; a second connection from said power source to said oscillatable plates; said second connection including speed changing mechanism, said apparatus for moving said blanks being adjustable to vary the number of blanks moved for any unit of movement of said apparatus.

4. In a folding machine for forming flat, collapsed tubular box blanks from flat and scored sheets, said sheets having a pair of longitudinally extending side sections defined by score lines and foldable about said score lines into said collapsed tubular arrangement; stop members mounted on said machine; apparatus for moving said blanks successively against said stop members, means for folding over the side sections, the completion of said folding operation releasing said blanks from said stops; said folding means comprising a pair of oscillatable plates; a chain for moving the folded blank from the stops; a source of driving power; a first connection from said power source to said chain; a second connection from said power source to said oscillatable plates; said second connection including speed changing mechanism; a plurality of spaced slats on said chain, each slat engageable with a folded blank to move the same; said slats being removable and remountable in accordance with the setting of the speed changing mechanism.

ALBERT F. SHIELDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,505,178 Wade et a1 Aug. 19, 1924 1,982,848 Wood Dec. 4, 1934 2,008,049 Staude July 16, 1935 

